Footage of dozens of brightly-coloured vapes lying scattered by the side of a road has appalled Aussies, as the illegal e-cigarettes reportedly continue to flood into the country in record numbers.
A video filmed on the busiest road in Australia, Melbourne‘s West Gate Freeway, exposed how the median strip has become a graveyard for vapes.
The short clip, taken by a truckie in heavy traffic, sparked outrage.
‘Grubs that used to throw cigarettes out the windows, now moved on to another level,’ fumed one commenter.
‘Zero respect for their country.’
Another branded the spectacle ‘filthy and disgusting’.
‘But why does it get to this level?’, they asked.
‘Whoever is responsible for this area needs to have a regular at least once a week cleaning schedule. This is what taxpayers pay for.’
Another quipped: ‘Don’t worry, we banned plastic straws’.
A video filmed on the busiest road in Australia, Melbourne ‘s West Gate Freeway, exposed how the median strip has become a graveyard for vapes (pictured)
Pip Kiernan, chair of environmental not-for-profit Clean Up Australia, said the footage was ‘so disappointing to see on the streets of Melbourne’.
‘Vapes are a triple threat to the environment as they contain plastic waste, e-waste with the lithium ion battery enclosed and hazardous waste with the toxins they contain,’ Ms Kiernan told Daily Mail Australia.
‘They don’t belong in the kerbside bin and the absolutely don’t belong in the environment.’
Ms Kiernan called for a nationally-consistent approach to the disposal of vapes.
‘There is an urgent need for a nationwide safe system for the disposal of vapes,’ she added.
‘Rules around disposal vary from location to location.’
Clean Up Australia warns that vapes must never be thrown away in a kerbside bin because their lithium-ion batteries present a fire risk.
It comes as a former Border Force official has unleashed on the Albanese government for allegedly failing to stem the flow of vapes and black market cigarettes into the country.
Clean Up Australia warns that vapes must never be thrown away in a kerbside bin because their lithium-ion batteries present a fire risk (pictured: some of the most popular vape brands)
The number of people aged 14 and over who reported vaping more than doubling from 2.5 per cent in 2019 to 7 per cent in 2022-2023, according to the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey
Rohan Pike, who led Border Force’s first illicit tobacco strike team, alleged that vapes were now ‘more available and in more flavours’, despite a government ban on the importation and sale of vapes last year.
‘My local illegal trader is now advertising vape flavours and prices in the front window of his shop and my barber tells me he is buying packets of Manchester for $7 from a shop that was raided but reopened 48 hours later,’ Mr Pike told the Herald Sun.
‘We are miles away from adopting an enforcement regime that deters criminals from entering this lucrative business.’
Vapes have exploded in popularity in recent years, particularly among young people.
The number of people aged 14 and over who reported vaping more than doubling from 2.5 per cent in 2019 to 7 per cent in 2022-2023, according to the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey.
Under the government’s ban, vapes can only be sold in pharmacies to people with a prescription.
But they can still be bought under the counter in many newsagents and tobacconists.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .